Hard Rain
by DesolatePassion
Summary: From the campaign with 1000 witches comes a newly forged story about four travelers who struggle to fight in a zombie infested world, and who says there can't be romance on the way? NickxEllis
1. Chapter 1

They stepped off of the boat and looked forward, one goal in each of their minds. Get the gas, come back in one piece.

"So, we need to get to the gas station, and bring some gas back to the boat..." the only woman of their survival group stated simply.

"Want to hear a prediction?" came a sarcastic voice from the man in the white suit.

"NO!" the other two shouted.

A roll of the eyes later, the four of them glanced at one another before each nodding a silent OK. Rushing over the broken paneling laid a little ways to the right of the dock, they made their way into the Burger Tank restaurant. Each started gathering supplies that were around from the previous group that had lingered there.

"Leave some here, so we have at least something to rely on when we make our way back. As a just in case thing, you know?" the reporter voiced as she put a bottle of pills into her pants pocket. Might need these later.

The rest of the group nodded and loaded some ammunition into their weapons then carried off into the street, killing a few infected as they made their way towards the sugar mill. The loud sound of hurried steps and labored breathing surrounded the group of survivors as they hurried through the destroyed neighborhood. Every so often there was an unwanted visitor but they took turns eliminating any problem they'd come across.

"Why the hell would anyone take gas further inland? At a time like this? The docks would've been just as fine for keeping the damn stuff as any other place, just more convenient," an older, African-American man harshly whispered his complaint.

"At least it's not up thirty flights of stairs, Coach." The statement was riddled with a stale sense of humor, but got a few quiet chuckles from the other survivors. Their small group consisted of Coach, an older man who was on the larger side but still in pretty good shape, Rochelle, a woman from Cleveland with the aspiration of becoming a reporter, Ellis, the youngest with a Southern accent and a vast amount of stories, and finally Nick, the conman with some trust issues and a quick wit. At first it wasn't the most favorable of groups, but they learned quickly to deal with it.

With a glare sent his way from Coach, Nick continued his way forward, his electric guitar gripped in both hands, and a few strings hanging off the top from some of the extracurricular activities that it had been going through.

They made their way through several broken houses, picking up stray pipe bombs or Molotovs on the way. It was kind of sad; the portraits on the walls seemed so lively when everything around them was so depressing. After looking through the neighboring houses for other goods they were finally prepared to start following the glowing traffic sign that read "Gas This Way" with an arrow pointing to the right. Carefully maneuvering around the car filled road, a voice spoke among them.

"Hey guys! That house is on stilts!" Ellis' smile widened as he saw the spray painted symbol for safe houses along a passing house. "What luck! We didn't even run into a horde or nothin'!" Man, he couldn't wait to tell Keith about all of his adventures with his new friends!

"Don't get your hopes up, Overalls. We've still got about another two hundred feet to go." Nick gave a slight pat to Ellis' shoulder. A scrunch of the nose and a showing of the tongue was the response he'd received from the mechanic. He rolled his eyes and smirked back.

"The sky is getting kind of cloudy, I hope it doesn't rain," Rochelle tilted her head up to look at the light gray clouds that were forming overhead.

"Well, weren't you training to become a weather person?" Ellis gave a glance over to his left where the woman happened to be. This road seemed to last forever, why not get to know each other better, right?

"No, I am trying to become a reporter, Ellis. Not the weather girl." She was a bit angry that he got it wrong, but what the hell, he'd only known her for about a week and a half. "It's all go-"

Her words were choked as she felt herself being dragged towards a flashing red car, "Oh shit! Get it off! Get it off!"

The jockey whinnied and slobbered in her hair as it continued to dig its claws deep into her shoulders. As they got closer to a near by blinking car her eyes widened with disbelief, "Oh God!" she grimaced as it continued to whinny and drag her around as if she were being reeled in.

"Dammit!" Coach took aim with his silenced machine gun, "I can't get a clear shot!"

"Jesus, somebody help!" Rochelle tried her hardest to slap the jockey off her back while trying to defy its gravitation towards the car, which was getting closer and closer.

"I gotcha!" A quick butt with the end of his machete to the jockey's face stunned the special infected so it fell to the ground. It paused, then suddenly whinnied and started to run around, leaping to make an escape.

"C'mon, Ro! Get up! We've got about fifty feet to go!" Helping her to her feet, Nick and Coach stayed focused as they started assisting Rochelle to help her walk forwards towards the safe house. She wouldn't go down so easily, but was still a little stunned from being jumped on. The saliva in her hair trickled down the back of her neck as she grimaced.

"Stupid evolving infected! I'll kill every one of those bastards I see from now on, I swear it!" Rochelle popped a pill in her mouth and nodded thanks to Coach and Nick for helping her up and about.

A little behind them, Ellis grinned as he cornered the jockey by the front tire of the car.

"I've got you now, you sonovabitch." He swung his stained machete, lopping the head off of the jockey, but in the process scraping the side of the car as well. A piercing alarm sounded as the car lights flashed -- intruder! That jockey must be mocking him by now. Ellis swore under his breath as the street started to fill with the stench of the undead and the cries of hungry infected. They all came dashing from every direction, navigating themselves towards the distressed vehicle, their lanky bodies battered and beaten. He braced himself and got into a battle stance.

"Oh goddammit, Ellis!" Nick swore as he smashed a ghostly face in with his guitar, "Coach! Take Ro to the safe house! We'll be there soon." The older man gave a nod as Rochelle shot her pistol into the cranium of a drooling ghoul, its lifeless body falling before her. She gave a soft grin wishing Nick good luck before turning to fight her own battle.

Swinging right and left, Nick dashed into the mob of infected fighting his way towards the youngest of their group. His face was splattered with blood, and the chips in his guitar continued to grow in size. The sickening sound of skulls no longer affected him as he finally reached Ellis' back. Fighting off a few infected that were beating on the Southern mechanic's back, after it was clear he lined himself up with Ellis, back-to-back. He fought to keep the infected away as the younger man continued to guard his front, slicing his way through the onslaught of zombies.

There was no more pounding on Ellis' back, nothing but the warmth of somebody else behind him. He gave a quick glance over his shoulder, and instantly his face flooded with relief as he saw the expensive white suit facing the other direction, defending him with a blood soaked guitar. He turned back to the front and fought the lessening horde; damn he was gonna have some mighty bruises later.

With the alarm finally stopped, the infected gradually stopped coming and only a large pile of the dead seemed to remain. Finishing the last of the lined up infected, Nick turned to Ellis and have him a soft knock to the back of his head with his fist, before stepping over a few dead bodies.

"Idiot. We've got to stick together if we want to live." He watched as Ellis swiped the head off of the last infected from his end. With that boyish grin of his Ellis turned around, his face littered with scratches.

"I know. Sorry 'bout that, but it sure is fun as hell beatin' those fuckers up, ya know?" He continued to smile as they walked slowly to the safe house, dripping weapons and all. Slightly limping up the stairs, Ellis peeked through the barred door and gave a small wave when Coach looked over. Nick looked over his own shoulder to keep a lookout for any stragglers that might have tried to come up.

"Hey Coach! Wanna help us fellows out?" His young stubbled face pressed against the bars; he didn't even notice the sting from his wounds. "We can't get in unless you let us in." The larger man rolled his eyes and walked over to the door and pried it open.

"Boy, you need to watch where you swing that shit! You were alone and after that shit I'm not sure I wanna be in that radius with you swingin' that knife like that! You coulda been left behind." Strolling through the door, Ellis placed his hands behind his head and stretched, revealing his tanned back to Nick as he followed Ellis into the safe room. Nick was sure to lock and bar the door behind himself.

"Aw shucks Coach! It's alright! Good ol' Nick came for my ass. I'll watch it next time, okay? How're those wounds there, Ro?" He hoisted himself onto the table that contained ammo and looked down to Rochelle who was rubbing an antibiotic on her shoulder wound.

"Oh, I'm just fine. Stupid ass jockey won't get me next time, that's for sure. " She flinched as she pulled her hand away from her shoulder, "Fucking stings."

Coach walked over and gave her some water and placed some gauze on her wound before pulling the sleeve back up to her revealed shoulder.

"Well, I say we rest a good fifteen minutes, then head on," Nick glanced at his teammates. Funny, he'd never really thought of that word before now, but that's what they were. Teammates. "We need to get that gas before nightfall, or at least have it by nightfall and be on our way back." Hands in his pockets he leaned against the wall for a second, before taking another thought and sliding down to sit on the floor. Killing zombies cramped his muscles, what a drag.

"I reckon he's right, what do ya'll think?" Ellis watched as Nick rolled his shoulders and then quickly turned away to look at Rochelle and Coach, "You think you'll be okay to travel some more?" She gave a nod before eating some of a candy bar she'd stashed away, before looking to Coach and giving the larger man the rest. He looked like he needed a pick-me-up.

The rest of their time was spent in silence, besides a few passing groans. Nobody knew what to say, but that was okay to them. They needed to savor the peaceful moments while they could, because before they knew it they would be out in the chaos that was the infection and they would no longer be able to hear the breathing of their partners, nor feel the ease of resting without some kind of worry.

Ellis looked down to where Nick sat before hopping down.

"You ready to do this?" He grinned and extended a hand to the man in the tattered suit. Nick studied the bright man's calloused hand, debating whether it was safe or not, before gripping the hand with his own and allowing himself to be pulled up. After a prolonged touch, he let go and nodded to Ellis before glancing at the back door.

With his skin still warm from contact, and a good team behind him, he felt like he could take on just about anything, but he wouldn't relay that to the group of three who gathered behind him.

"Ready as I'll ever be."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So. New chapter is up.  
Aha, sorry for any grammar mistakes and what not.**

**Yeah, no beta yet. ;) Hopefully it won't pull too many of you out of the story.**

**I tried to be a little bit more descriptive, but yeah, my visual scenery can never match anything I try and type.**

**Oh. This chapter design is slightly based on the actual map? lol I forget a lot of places so it's just kind of there sometimes and then sometimes not? **

**You get what I'm saying?**

**Also, I've got this crazy one-shotish story in my head with the movie ZombieLand. But instead of those characters I'd do**

**a rendition of it with the Left 4 Dead 2 cast. Anyone interested? o-o;**

**Jeezie Creezie.  
Disclaimer: The Left 4 Dead crew belong to Valve, not me.**

_**------------------------------------------------------------------Hard Rain----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

"Did I ever tell you guys about the one time me an' Keith filled water balloons with our own-"

"Ellis. Is now the time?"  
"Okay." Ellis resigned and put both of his hands up in front of him in a mock surrender. He seemed to get used to everyone cutting him off at the good parts of his stories. Oh well, their loss.

Getting ready to open the safe room door Nick peered out the bars, "I guess you should think about becoming a weather woman Rochelle, because it's starting to rain."

Reloading their guns real quick they all stepped out of the safe room and into the open. The sky was a dark gray as a light drizzle made its way to each of them. The rain was a little chilly at first, but the warmer temperature of the air kept them all from getting too cold. Thank goodness for the southern climate. The lack of moans and groans made the group extra cautious as they made their way forwards.

Abandoned trucks and cement cylinders littered the surrounding area along with a few factory buildings, but without anyone with a high enough IQ and the drive to keep them up to date, the factories seemed to be a little worn down. As they traveled ahead, their feet sank into the softening earth leaving behind footprints as they ran along to their destination. The gas station.

"So, we've got to go through the sugar mill to get to the gas? Seems a little ridiculous to me. They should've built that gas station closer to the main road instead of a couple miles into the middle of nowhere. Damn hicks for bringing the gas all the way back here!" Rochelle sighed and put her free hand on her forehead. "Oh jeez! No offense to you El. You'd probably of done a better job then them anyways."

The young mechanic gave a dismissive wave before putting his index finger to his lips. The group stopped walking as they listened to the sound of a distant coughing.

"It's one of them smoker things isn't it?" Coach frowned and glared around. Ellis gave a nod before shivering a little at the memory of the slippery tongue winding itself around him, letting it's saliva seep into his clothes and skin before their escape to the elevator. Ew. He suddenly wished he hadn't of gotten that memory because he then felt like he was wrapped in a phantom tongue binding. He frowned, horribly displeased with the thought.

Nick glanced over at Ellis as he saw the bright man shiver. Poor kid had bad memories with just about every evolving infected they'd happened to of come across.

"Well we're bait just standing here. Let's keep moving." Swinging his red guitar onto his shoulder, Nick carried on, inwardly upset that his expensive shoes were getting ruined in this brown muck.

Ellis dashed to keep up, mud splattering the bottoms of his pants as his feet picked up. Like hell he was going to get left being, not like earlier, screw that.

Rochelle rolled her eyes, boys will be boys. She glanced back to Coach, who was still glancing around the rundown area, trying to find that sneaky coughing bastard. She was about to call out to him but it happened faster than a snakebite. Before she even uttered a sound the reporter watched as the larger man was pulled back with a long, slimy appendage.

"This shit ain't good! Get this thing off of me!" Coach tried breaking the tongue off with brute strength, having dropped his gun in the after shock of being grabbed, but his efforts had no effect. He continued to struggle as a few zombie-fied construction workers dashed out. Their eyes were a milky white while their faces were distorted with an unexplainable rage. The fluorescent vests shined in the flashlight of Rachelle's gun, distracting her for a split second before she screamed for the two that had ran ahead. What shitty timing they had.

"Guys! I need some help! Smokers got Coach!"

She dashed to Coach's discarded gun, scooping it up and shooting her pistol at the workers who were currently pounding their fists on her comrade. By no means were her shots perfect, but she did manage to shoot the stray workers enough that they soon fell to the ground, never to rage again. She picked up her pace as Coach grew closer to the gruesome looking infected who was emitting a cloud of green, his bubbled face oozed the stuff out every few seconds.

"Oh no you don't!" Rochelle dashed up to the creature and gave it a clean shot to the head. The smoker deflated in an instant after the bullet went through where its brain used to be, a giant smoke screen was left being. The two survivors started to cough as they were subjected to inhaling the nasty residue of what once was a special infected. Coach pulled himself up from his knees. Damn, he was too old to be doing this shit.

"Nick! I think I heard Ro' say she needed something. We should go back and see what's up." The mechanic stopped in his tracks, looking back to see if he could see his other teammates. He could barely hear what she had said with the sudden rumble of thunder, but he was sure it had to be something important for her to raise her voice like that.

"They should've kept up. It's their loss." Nick continued to walk forward sinking a little more with each step. You've got to look out for yourself, if you don't...who will? The rain lightened a bit as he stopped. "Goddammit." Not hearing the squishing steps he'd previously heard as they were walking, he turned around. His bloodied and scuffed suit looked seemingly new against the brown and green muck surrounding the area. The mechanic was glaring at him, what the hell?

"You're a hypocrite. Ya' know that? You came back for me, fed me some bullshit about staying together to survive and you were just gonna leave our teammates for dead, weren't you? You're an asshole." Ellis glared and turned tail, jogging back the direction they came from.

"Well I'll be damned. I just got told off." He smirked. Nick wasn't sure to be offended or honored but either way that kid had spunk. He liked that in a person. Picking up his pace, he followed Ellis back towards Coach and Rochelle. He was just about to turn the corner, barely catching a glimpse of the yellow stained back of Ellis, when suddenly a heavy weight crashed onto his back. His went head first into the mud, his guitar sprawled a few feet away from him.

The sting of claws digging into his back brought him out of his sudden daze. Nick pulled his head up from the mud, gasping for air. He winced and tried to fight the hooded figure off of his back before saying 'fuck it' and screaming for help. With his vision cloudy he scraped at the ground, dirt slipping beneath his nails as he gasped for help again. Should've stayed together. The creature continued to claw at his back with a vicious ferocity, grinning in satisfaction.

What seemed like hours of pain and torture were in reality only a few deadly seconds. He groaned as he felt the weight lifted. He rolled his head to his right to see Ellis on top of the hunter, shooting a few shots into its growling head before the creature lay twitching momentarily then going completely limp. Nick gave a weak smile as he watched Ellis spit on the deceased hunter before he grabbed the fallen guitar and strapped it to his back along with his machete. He jumped over to Nick and helped him up out of the mud.

"Gee, I leave you alone for a second and you go and get yourself jumped on. C'mon, I ain't leavin you here but you gotta get up." Ellis pulled Nick to his feet, watching as the older man wavered a little bit before standing completely still. His back hurt so incredibly bad, the sting made him wince with even the slightest movement of his body.

The mechanic looked over the torn up material of his teammates back. The scratches on his back ran deep each and every way, leaving scraps of material falling off or completely gone. Blood seemed to ooze from every wound creating a dark red patch on the pieces of suit that were still there.

"That looks real bad Nick. Here let me patch you up." Ellis started to pull out his first-aid kit but Nick put his hand on the red back and gave a small push.

"Thanks, but not here. Its too open. Let's go back and get Coach and Ro before we find somewhere dry to sit for a bit."

"Well, alright. But at least let me help you, okay?" Ellis grabbed Nicks left arm and lightly placed it around his shoulders before wrapping his right arm behind the tattered suit, earning a hiss, then helping the conman move towards their teammates.

"Speak of the devils," Coach said to Rochelle as they watched a limping Nick be assisted by Ellis, who decidedly gave a small salute.

"Where the hell were you guys?! I had to fight off the infected AND save Coach before he got molested too much!"

The ex college football player glared as Rochelle mentioned the word molested. It's not like the thing touched him inappropriately, as she made it sound.

"Sorry guys. We had a little trouble ourselves." Ellis smiled and didn't bother to mention that Nick almost left them behind.

"Alright, lets' stay together this time, okay?" Rochelle glared at the conman real quick before giving Ellis a smile in return.

"If it's any help, I saw a trailer that we could take a rest in a few yards up and around the corner." Nick paid no heed to the glare the reporter gave him, but instead winced as the rain continued to wash his wounds free of dirt and soak the other members as well.

"Then lets get the hell working on that! I ain't getting attacked like that again." Coach gave a snort of distaste before walking ahead, "As long as we keep to a group of two, even if we get separated, we'll still have a better chance of survival."

Taking the hint Rochelle gave one last glare to Nick and walked up to keep an eye of Coach. The last thing she needed was losing a teammate to the infected and lowering their chance of survival.

"I think she likes you Nick." Ellis smiled again and gave a chuckle as they turned to follow the pair in front of them.

"Yeah, like a dolphin likes a shark." He rolled his eyes and winced again. Feeling light headed he wobbled a bit, but felt Ellis tighten his grip trying to keep him steady. He wasn't sure if what he felt was blood trickling down his back or just the rain falling, but either way it felt a little relieving.

"C'mon buddy. You'll make it, just a little more and I'll heal ya up, okay?"

Nick nodded. He was tougher than this. He'd have no problem surviving through this and starting life over again somewhere new. Hell, who knows. Maybe he'd write a book and make a million dollars when the economy came to be one again. His head fell back before rolling over onto Ellis' shoulder. He didn't feel so well, but it was warm. The body heat coming from Ellis gave him the slightest comfort, the knowledge that he could still feel something. He was alive. _So warm._

"You're warm," was the simple statement that stumbled from his mouth. He glanced up just in time to see a faint color show itself on the mechanics baby-ish face. He smirked before trying to focus on walking instead of making Ellis carry all of his weight.

"Well, uh, my momma always told me I was hot blooded. Maybe it was hot headed?" He scratched his cheek with his free index finger. He wasn't sure why he got so flustered at such a simple utterance of words, but lost the train of thought as he saw Coach and Rochelle enter a lightly lit trailer.

"There's weapons in here!"

Coach peeked his head out of the doorway, "You need help boy?"

Ellis smiled and shook his head, helping Nick into the trailer as the dark clouds loomed behind them, the rain continuing to fall.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:**

**So, it's been about a month right? I'm really sorry about the wait guys! It was a really busy season for the companies that I work for and I got a lot more hours than I normally do. Between that and sleep, it took up most of my time, plus I just couldn't figure how to end this chapter! But I do hope that you all enjoy and this will eventually (hopefully) be beta'd, I was just too excited to have finished it finally so I decided to post it anyways. **

**Woo! I also want to thank each and everyone of you for the favorites, the reviews, the alerts and all that stuff that makes my day so much brighter. :) I really do appreciate it you guys! 3 Mucho love from me!**

_**THIS CHAPTER IS NOT BETAD**_

**Just a small warning lol**_**  
**_

**Valve owns L4D2. Not me.**

**ps. happy holidays. :D**

* * *

_**------------------------------------------------------------------Hard Rain----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

Nick found himself settled on the ground, cross-legged, wincing as Ellis started prying pieces of ripped shirt and jacket away from his skin. Coach stood guard at the door, shooting stray zombies that happened to stumble into range, protecting them on their short break. With a sigh Nick looked around the small tin trailer they were in. The brown wood paneling was chipping away and the light flickered every so often as the generator chugged. _Oh how pleasant._

"You know, it'd be easier if you'd just take his shirt off Ellis." Rochelle said matter of fact, as she observed the two on the floor. With her pink shirt stained with brain matter and blood, she sat down in front of Nick. Handing him a few pain pills and giving him a drink of her water. She winced as the man across from scowled in pain. Another painful rip of clothing made him second guess letting the mechanic patch him up. He may know how to patch a gas tank but he sure as hell was rough patching up a person. After a particularly harsh pull, Nick gritted his teeth and whipped his head around and growled.

"Stop."

Ellis looked at him, his eyes slightly wide at how fast the conman could move while in pain. Before he could fight back or give an objection he watched as Nick peeled the blood and rain soaked jacket off of his shoulders. The older man gave a gasp as he ripped the rest of the ruined material away from his back, fisting the article of clothing in both hands when he finished. _Damn that fucking hurt._ He squeezed the jacket and closed his eyes briefly before he let go, dropping it on the floor. His hands were shaking as he went to undo the buttons of his light blue undershirt. It took him a few seconds to steady his hands enough to finish unbuttoning the flimsy shirt before slowly peeling it off as well. The back stuck to him with dried blood, the wounds attempt to repair itself was kicking in. He tugged it off with one swift pull. Scowling he placed the rest of the shirt with his jacket. He sat back down on the floor and waited for the mechanic to get to work.

This wound wasn't the worst he'd ever received in his line of work, but it sure was up there on the pain scale. The southern boy sat behind him and pulled out his healing kit. Ellis' eyes wandered over the pale back of his comrade, assessing the new wounds as well as some old scars. Pressing what was left of the peroxide onto a stray piece of cloth, Ellis began to clean out the dirt and infection in the claw marks on Nicks back.

Coach looked over to see Nick grit his teeth from the not so gentle cleaning process, Ellis work as diligently as he could and Rochelle waving around Nicks shirts. He raised an eyebrow in question, "Ro, what on earth are you doing?"  
She stopped waving the tops around, and turned to look at the man guarding the tin can they were stationed in.

"Well, I'm trying to dry these a little so they won't stick too bad when he puts them back on."

"Oh. Right." He turned around and shrugged, letting her continue doing whatever it was she thought was best.

"I don't have a lot of gauze, but I do have the wrap. Is that gonna be okay with you?" Nick felt a wisp of warm air on the back of his neck as Ellis asked his question. He nodded and kept staring a hole in the wall in front of him until he saw arms that weren't his in his lower peripheral vision. Ellis' long tan arms wrapped around his torso as the mechanic started to wrap him up. Warmth roamed through Nicks back as Ellis continued to wrap around his chest, then the cold would was over him as the country boy would lean back to wrap around the actual wound. Nick held his breath as he felt the warmth again, spreading itself over his back before it was gone again. It felt like a tantalizing dance that never seemed to end. The warmth, then the cold. He felt himself relax a little, enough that he closed his eyes and let out a smal inaudible sigh.

Ellis pulled the last of the wrap around to Nicks back and tucked it under the latest layer then pulled it up to tie a knot in it. He was done but didn't feel like leaving. He carefully placed his hands on Nicks shoulders avoiding any contact with the wound and gave Nick a small squeeze before leaning closer and-

"You boys done yet?" Coach asked looking at them. Ellis jolted back, a light pink faded into his dusty cheeks. He slapped Nick on the shoulder, causing the conman to scowl and turn around to glare.

Rubbing the back of his neck Ellis grinned, "We sure are! He's good as new!" He turned to grab his machete and pistol before going to stare out the window.

Nick stood up, wincing as the wrap pulled a bit on his scabbing wound but gathered his shirt and jacket from Rochelle, muttering a faint thanks before gingerly putting the clothes on. He turned and grabbed his guitar off of the table and stood behind Coach.

"Let's get going. I'd like to make it back to the boat in one piece and I'm sure there'll be more of those bastard things out towards night."

Coach nodded and stepped out into the rain, followed by the patched up conman. Ellis watched them through the window and he jumped a little as Rochelle put her hand on his shoulder.

"You okay El? You seem a little off." She was concerned for him, he was like a little brother to her.

He nodded and gave a weak smile before going into the rain with the others. _Smiling let everyone know you were okay, even if you weren't. _Rochelle started at the three of them. What a team they made, but she wasn't too sure about Nick just yet. She'd have to keep an eye on him. Reloading her own weapons, she proceeded into the storm with her fellow survivors. They made their trek through a small brick opening and worked their way into another open area that was littered with rubble, metal pipes and tracks above their heads. There was a shift in the atmosphere. Ellis looked around and got his machete ready. A lone ghoul stepped into sight and gurgled up some blood before stumbling forward.

Coach took aim, but Nick stopped him and whispered, "Let's do this more quietly. Lets not alert the horde, okay?" The larger man nodded in agreement and gave Ellis a gentle shove towards the meandering creature, "You have the quietest weapon of killing, go on!"

The mechanic frowned and decided he'd take all of his mental frustration out on this particular zombie. Grayish hands grabbed at him as he sliced its arms off. The creature leaned forward to bite him and Ellis pulled back and swung at his head like a baseball. _And it's a home run! Bullshifters win! Wooo! _He chuckled and turned around, only to see his teammates covered in green bile. The rotten stench filled the air, wafting in all directions and attracting a lovely group of starving, brainless cretins. The came crawling from beneath rubble, from the shadows, off of the pipes and there were even gray zombies falling off of the buildings, breaking their legs and crawling towards the biled on survivors. Some even ran past Ellis, not even acknowledging his existence. Nick jumped away from Coach and Rochelle as he started to swing his guitar around, smashing into the skulls of the surrounding predators.

Trying not to hurl, Rochelle wiped the slime away from her eyes and shot the obese man looking down on them. He exploded instantaneously, littering them with spare organs and blood. They all gagged and tried holding their breath as they fought off the groaning zombies.

Ellis ran up and started hacking at the zombies surrounding Nick, not wanting to get caught in the line of fire if he'd made his way in front of Ro and Coach. The number of attackers dwindled as they all fought their way through the crowds. Finishing off the last of them the four got together trying to wipe themselves free of the goo.

Ellis laughed and plugged his nose, "Oh man you guys stink! That reminds of this one time, me an Keith were camping out and he decided he wanted to mess with this skunk. The skunk wussn't too happy to see Keith I guess, cause he sprayed this nasty green stuff and Keith threw up! I don't know what he'd eaten before then but oh man-"

"Ellis, sweety, is now the time?" Rochelle sighed and shivered as she slid the bile down her arm and on to the ground.

"Okay." He kept his nose plugged for the first couple of minutes, but let go when his hand got tired. It didn't smell too bad now since the rain was washing most of the bile off of his teammates.

Coach mumbled something about how he was lucky for having a strong stomach before he stepped forward.

"We still got ta get that gas guys."

Nick frowned but nodded and continued to wipe himself off as they made their way around the cement jungle. The rain continued to fall at a steady pace as the survivors quietly crept through. The dulled suctioned pops that their feet made were the only sounds besides their breathing and the pitter patter of the rain drops. Navigating their way around the corner of a brick building they all heard a weeping sound. The wails of despair filled the stale air as they all came to a sudden halt, looking around for the witch who the sound was emitting from.

"Sounds like my ex-wife." Nick glared and felt a shiver run down his spine. He winced. _Damn that hurt. _ All three remaining survivors looked to Nick, surprised he'd released any sort of personal information. Ellis found himself fidgeting with his machete, a dull twinge in his chest at the mention of Nick's ex-wife. They stood still or a scarce amount of time before the crying had carried on and faded.

Moving swiftly, they made their way further into the sugar mill. The puddles sloshed around them as they saw the upcoming building. Dark gray, it stood towering over them. As they continued to look at the building a few zombies teetered out of the open windows, splitting their heads on stray pipes and bars as they fell.

"Well doesn't this look like fun." With dry humor, Nick rolled his eyes and he took a carefully aimed swing at a snarling zombie's face.

"Looks less fun then the carnival. Oh man, did I love that place! Even infested with zombies it was still a blast! Damn I can't wait to go back." With a wide smile, Ellis watched as Nicks face was splattered in blood as he his the zombies head off. His grin was subdued into a weak smile. He probably would never get too used to killing zombies, they used to be people too.

Rochelle cringed at the familiar twang the guitar made, but brushed the sound off as she looked at the run down building.

Rain seemed to fall harder as the sloshed their way into the building. Stairs weaved into the interior, cascading through at least three stories of dark gray. With a silent nod of agreement, the quatro stumbled up the stairs, pushing back zombies on the way up. A faint weeping sound was head as the passed by the second floor. They fully intended to by pass any witch they'd hear. Rumors on the wall said that they were everywhere.

"Ya know? I don't really like sugar all that much. One time, Keith told me that sugar made you feel good if you snorted it, but it just burns and-"  
"Boy! We ain't got time for your non-sense." Nick glanced over as Coach halted the southern mans story. He watched as tanned, scratched, and healthy muscles flexed as they crossed up onto the third floor.

Rochelle budged past Nick, shoving him not so gently out of the way, breaking his concentration. She inspected the caged elevator, then peered over the outside edge of the mill, looking into the field. Deeming it impossible to survive a scale down the wall, they would have to alert the horde.

Nick stood adjacent to the stairs as he listened to the desperate cry of the witch. She seemed to be getting louder. Puzzled, he walked over towards the inner edge, kneeled and looked around for her. Coach took stand by Rochelle, telling her a game plan he'd though up. Ellis strolled over to Nick and kneeled to looked over the edge as well. After all, they were partners.

"What you lookin' for?" He scanned the lower floors, observing a zombie fight on the second floor. He winced as he saw the stronger zombie pull off his opponents arm.

Nick put his finger up to his lips as his eyes darted around, looking for any trace of the sobbing infected. Ellis nodded and listened for her as well. The weeping got louder and Nick peered further over the edge only to find the witch was making her way up the stairs. Ellis was about to shout out a warning to Coach and Rochelle, but a loud, scraping noise infiltrated the air as they had started up the elevator. _Shit._

Nick stood up fast, his back aching from his earlier encounter as he pulled Ellis up by his arm as well. Panic filled his eyes as he watched the horde make its way up the stairs, masking the cry of the witch as she made her way up the stairs with her undead comrades. With all the extra commotion, she seemed to blend in perfectly.

Rochelle and Coach shot at the oncoming mass of zombies. Snarls and gasps filled the air as blood littered the surrounding area. Nick swung his guitar careful to avoid Ellis, who was fighting a little in front of him. Even in all of this filth and blood, Ellis was probably one of the purest people he'd ever met, it made his heart hurt. He swung extra hard to get away from whatever he was feeling.

All hell broke loose as a horrified screech pierced through the survivors ears. Someone had startled the witch. Her enraged cry startled the survivors themselves as they looked forward to see the surrounding horde being shredded to bits and pieces with her razor sharp claws. Her eyes glowed a fiery red as she screamed her petite heart out, running towards Coach and Rochelle.

Ellis surged forward, making an attempt to stop the distraught special infected. Her howl of madness sent shivers down his spine but he wouldn't allow anything to happen to his teammates. He was about to take a swipe at her head but she took a swing back with her mighty claw, hitting Ellis square in the face and pushing him backwards towards the inner edge. Despair filled his face as he stumbled back. Unable to stop himself he looked to Nick as he slipped off of the edge, his hand stretched out as the con mans name slipped from his chapped lips.

"_**ELLIS!**_"


End file.
